Mastercard and M-KOPA today at the Mobile World Congress, announced a partnership that will provide Africans living without electricity, a simple way to light up their homes and businesses.
M-KOPA, which already provides affordable, safe and clean energy to 3 million people in East Africa, will pilot Mastercard’s Quick Response (QR) payment technology in Uganda to extend the reach of its pioneering pay-as-you-go solar program.
Masterpass QR, an open and interoperable technology will create a new payment channel for M-KOPA’s pay-as-you-go customers outside of Kenya. The network of mobile network operators and banks using Masterpass QR will help M-KOPA to scale and grow across Africa without requiring additional technology investments. Masterpass QR is currently available in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
“We may take for granted our ability to produce light with the simple flick of a switch. But for many around the world, simple things like having electricity can be life changing,” said Kiki Del Valle, senior vice president, Commerce for Every Device, Mastercard. “By using our digital payment capabilities, we want to make it easy for people to access reliable and regular sources of energy and become more economically resilient – earn a livelihood by working from home, keep shops and businesses open for longer and study after dark.”
An estimated 16 percent of the world’s population — 1.2 billion people — have little or no access to electricity. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, 625 million people lack access to electricity, relying on bio and fossil fuels such as wood, charcoal and kerosene.
